What do sailors say

Crew members help with sheets. Spinnaker: a parachute-like, triangular sail attached at the bow and used to propel a sailboat with the wind behind it. Sometimes called the kite or chute. Winch: cylindrical metal hardware—beer- or paint-can sized—on either side of the cockpit where sheets are wrapped clockwise to crank sails in and out. Cockpit: the area with seats near the steering station or helm. Deck: anywhere you can walk around on the exterior of the boat.

Get out of your comfort zone and let their words serve as your greatest encouragement. There are many phrases that we use on a regular basis that have their origin in the nautical world.

However, they have lost their original meaning, so most of the time we are not aware that we are using the same phrases that were once used by sailors. We made a list of the most popular sailor phrases used in everyday language, explaining their metaphorical and original meaning.

The first example is the term feeling under the weather that people nowadays use to describe the feeling of sadness. Sailors would use this phrase when the weather was rough to warn the passengers to retreat to the lower levels of the boat to keep them safe from the storm. We have all, not only once, experienced the calm before the storm.

For example, we know that a really bad argument is always preceded by an extremely peaceful period. Sailors, on the other side, would use this phrase in the anticipation of bad weather. People often find themselves at a loose end , meaning they do not know what to do next. When on board, something that is often loose is the rope. A loose end means that the rope is not attached properly.

Have you ever gone overboard and completely exaggerated in your actions? Similar to that, when you go overboard on a boat, it means that you literally fall out of it. The phrase fair winds and following seas is one of the most known sailing terms. Shore-side, the term means in need. Haze - Long before fraternal organisations, hazing was the practice of keeping the crew working all hours of the day or night, whether necessary or not, in order to deprive them of sleep and to make them generally miserable.

In the 19th century, many captains used this practice to assert their authority. Hazing has come to mean the initiation of a newcomer to a group by humiliating and harassing him or her, thereby asserting the authority of the group. High and dry - This term originally referred to ships that were beached. Hot chase - A principle of naval warfare, though without basis in law, that allowed a fleeing enemy to be followed into neutral waters and captured there if the chase had begun in international waters.

On shore, it means big and clumsy. Carpenters, sailmakers, cooks, etc. They were called idlers, but not because they had nothing to do, simply because they were off duty at night. Junk - Old rope no longer able to take a load, it was cut into shorter lengths and used to make mops and mats.

Keel hauling - A severe naval punishment during the 15th and 16th centuries. The victim, presumably a delinquent sailor, was dragged from one side of the boat to the other, under the bottom of the boat keel. Tossed over one side and pulled up on the other, he was usually allowed to catch his breath before suddenly being tossed overboard again. Keel hauling lost favour at the beginning of the 18th century, to be replaced by the cat-o-nine-tails.

The term still means a rough reprimand. Land-side it still means a person with experience and skill. Also, learn the ropes and show them the ropes. Leeway - The weather side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The Lee side is the side of the ship sheltered from the wind. A lee shore is a shore that is downwind of a ship.

Listless - When a ship was listless, she was sitting still and upright in the water, with no wind to make her lean over list and drive ahead. Long hau l - Operation on ship requiring the hauling of a lot of line. Also seen in short haul, an operation requiring little line. Long shot - In old warships, the muzzle-loading cannon were charged with black powder of uncertain potency that would propel the iron shot an equally uncertain distance with doubtful accuracy.

A pounder long gun, for instance, was considered to have a maximum effective range of yards, even though, under the right conditions, a ball might travel some yards. Thus, the odds were against a hit when one fired a long shot. Loose cannon - A cannon having come loose on the deck of a pitching, rolling, and yawing deck could cause severe injury and damage.

Has come to mean an unpredictable or uncontrolled person who is likely to cause unintentional damage. Mainstay - A stay that extends from the maintop to the foot of the foremast of a sailing ship. Currently, a thing upon which something is based or depends. On your ends - The beams here are the horizontal transverse timbers of ships. This phrase came about with the allusion to the danger of imminent capsize if the ends were touching the water. Over the barrel - The most common method of punishment aboard ship was flogging.

The unfortunate sailor was tied to a grating, mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon. Overhaul - To prevent the buntline ropes from chaffing the sails, crew were sent aloft to haul them over the sails. This was called overhauling. Overreach - If a ship holds a tack course too long, it has overreached its turning point and the distance it must travel to reach its next tack point is increased.

If this has happened to you, we are sorry, that sounds like a horrible work environment. The big dangerous thing would be sliding all over the place making for some uncomfortable time on deck trying to get that bad boy back in its spot. It comes from a more literal origin — sailors would be tugging at lines as fast as they could, hand over fist, to trim sheets and raise sails.

A good spot for this sort of thing was between the guns on the gun deck. Learn To Sail.